op basle



PjsAL-ATHE. Manufacture of Anthraoene;

Patented May 11, 1 880.

V Maw NJHERS. PHOTOJJDIMRAPNER, WASHINGTON. ILC.

UNITED STATES To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRITZ SALATHE, Phil. Dr., of Basie, Switzerland, atpresent residing in the city of New York, have made an invention of anew and useful Improvement in the Art of Manufacturing Anthracene andits" HoQ mologous Hydrocarbons, which are usually 'obtained from the drydistillation of bituminous coal, and also a new intermediate productcon-l f taining anthracene and others of said hydro-.

carbons.

"The following is a full, clear, and exact de-' scription of my saidinvention.

'Previous to' my invention anthracene has generally been manufacturedfrom the coal-.

tar obtained by the distillation of bituminous coal for the productionof illuminating-gas.

The quantity of anthracene obtained from coaltar has been, thus far,small in proportion to 1 the quantity of coal-tar treated.

The object of the present invention is to enable anthracene andhomologous hydrocarbons to be produced in larger quantities and at a lowprice. I

2 5 Tothese ends the first part of my invention 3 consists of theimprovement in the art of manufacturing anthracene of homologoushydrocarbons by the treatment by heat or distilla:

- tion of petroleum or its derivatives in a, par- 0 ticular manner, ashereinafter set forththat is to say, at a'dull-red heat (sayfrom 400centigrade to 550 centigrade, or thereabout) and. in the presence ofcharcoal or its equivalent, hereinafter described.

I 3 5 The second part of my invention consists of PATENT innicn.

FRITZ SALATHE, 0F BASLE, SWITZERLAND, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN J..KELLER(TRUSTEE) OF NEW YORK, N. Y., FOR HIMSELF, :SAID .SALATHE, :AND JOHN-RODenIeY, oF BAsLE, SWITZERLAND.

i MANUFACTURE OF ANTHRA C-E'N E.

. SPECIFICATION forming" part of Letters. Patent-No. 227,588, dated May11, 1880.

Application filedDecember 6. 1379.

ployed by me, it being understood that such mode and means may be variedas circumstances or. the peculiar views of manufacturers may renderexpedient.

The two raw materials which I have used with success as the basis of mymanufacture are crude petroleum and the petroleum-tarobtained as arefuse product in the distillation of petroleum for the purpose ofmanufacturing illuminating-oils.

The means or apparatus which' I have used withv'success is representedin the accompanyingldrawings, Figurel representing a front view of thesame, and 'Fig. 2 representing a vertical longitudinal section of thesame following the line w w of Fig. 1.

The said apparatus is'similar to that generally employe'd'for the'drydistillation of bituminous coal for the production of illuminating-gas.Its principal parts are the fire-chamber A'for thefuel, by which therequisite heat is obtained; three cast-iron retorts, 'B' B B thebrick-work G,in which said retorts are set and which'forms the 'fluesthrough which the products of combustion of the fuel in the fire-boxareconducted to the chimney D, the feed-tank E, the condensing-tank F, andthe gas-pipe G. The upper retort, B, is fitted at one end with afeed-pipe, a, through which the raw material is fed from thefeed-tank'E, the supply being regulated by a stop-cock, b. The upperretort is connected at the end farthest from the feed-pipe with the twolower retorts, B B, by means of a forked connec- ,tion, 0, and the endsof these lower retorts which are farthest'from the forked connection 0are connected with the tank F by means of dip-pipes cl. This vtankcorresponds substantially with the hydraulic main used in coalgas works,but in the present case it has been placed on the floor instead ofoverhead. The illuminating-gas which enters this tank from the retortsis conducted from the tank by means of the gas-pipe G to a scrubber ofthe ordinary construction, and thence to the gas- The apparatus isheated by means of a fire built in the fire-chamber A. The raw materialis placed in the feed-tank E, and if the material be a petroleum-tar tooviscid to run through the stop-cock b, enough crude petroleum may beadded to reduce its consistency, and, if necessary, the raw material maybe heated. Before any of the material is allowed to enter the retortsthey are charged with charcoal (as from a to b and from a to D or withsome equivalent thereof, for the purposes of the process hereindescribed, such as coke coated or permeated with lam p-black orplatinized, or plates of platinum-foil.

The heat employed by me with success is a dull-red heat-say fromcentigrade to 600 centigrade. When the retorts arrive at thistemperature, the fluid raw material is permitted to drip down throughthe feed-cock into the upper retort. The liquid falling into the head ofthe retort is first vaporized, and then the vapors are decomposed in theretorts with the aid of the charcoal. The products of decomposition passto the tank F, which is partially filled with water, and the largerportion of the tarry or oily matters is condensed or received in thistank, while the gas and uncondensed vapors pass through the gas-pipe Gto the scrubber, in which, practically, all the residue of the tarry oroily matters is condensed. These tarry or oily matters, produced by thedecomposition of the petroleumtar or crude petroleum in the presence ofthe charcoal or its equivalent, constitute my new product of anthracitictar; and it is treated subsequently for the separation of the varioushydrocarbons of which it is composed in the same manner as coal-tar istreated for the same purpose, with the exception that, as theanthracitic tar is practically free of acid matters, the use of causticsoda is unnecessary in the treatment.

The essential characteristic of the process above described is thedecomposition of the raw material by heat in the presence of charcoal orits equivalent, which does not practically transform or aid in thetransformation of the material into solid carbon.

The essential characteristic of the anthracitic tar, as distinguishedfrom coal-tar, is the much greater richness of the former in anthracene,naphthaline, and benzine, and its freedom from acid matters, such asphenic and cresylie acids.

The oils which are separated from the anthracene, benzine, andnaphthaline by the subsequent treatment of the anthracitic tar may bemixed with petroleum-tar and subjected to the same process, as they thenfurnish adgitional quantities of the valuable hydrocarons.

It is expedient to make apart, 0, of the feedpipe of the retort ofglass, so that the speed of feeding may be observed, or the feeding 'maybe effected from the stop-cock into an inverted siphon feed-pipe, havingafunnel-mouth and containing enough of the liquid to prevent the escapeof the gas and vapors from the retorts.

It is also expedient to charge the charcoal or its equivalent into theretorts by placing it in a cylinder, m, of heavy sheet-iron, closed atthe feeding end of the retort by an iron grating of strong wire. Duringthe process a little hard carbon forms upon this grating, which must beremoved from time to time.

It is expedient that the distance traversed by the vapors should be longenough to permit them to be thoroughly decomposed at the comparativelylow heat used. Hence it has been found expedient to combine the retorts,as represented in the drawings, so that the vapors traverse at least twoof them.

It is also expedient to set the retorts with a! slight inclinationtoward the discharge-point; so that the tarry liquids which collect inthe retorts may run toward the discharge end and be delivered into thetank F. When a number of such benches of retorts are placed in a row thetank F may be made long enough to be common to the whole row, as thehydraulic main of a gas-work is. The tank is supplied with watersufficiently to keep it from becomin g too hot, the tarry matters andthe hot water} being permitted to escape to a settling-tankl 1f the gasproduced is not required for illua minating purposes it may be used toheat the} retorts. I

The quantity of illuminating-gas producedl during the process, as wellas the quantity of anthraeene, may be increased somewhat by introducingsteam into the upper retort simuL, taneously with the raw material. Thequart tity of steam so introduced should not, in my, opinion, exceedthat obtained by vaporizing a quantity of water one-fourth the volume ofthe said raw material.

The invention is highly advantageous because of the utilization of apetroleum-tar and; the production at a low cost of a product con-ltaining a large quantity of anthracene. l

I claim as my invention 1. In the art of manufacturing anthracene andhomologous hydrocarbons, the improve-i ment consisting substantially inthe treatment of petroleum or its derivatives in the pres; ence ofcharcoal at a dull-red heat, and the condensation of the tarry matterproduced by such treatment, substantially as before set forth.

2. As a new article of manufacture, anthracitic tar, hereinbeforedescribed, which is distinguishable from coal-tar by its freedom fromacid matters.

In witness whereof I have hereto set my hand this 14th day of November,A. D. 1879.

Ffi-SALATHE.

Witnesses:

W. L. BENNEM, H. H. ISAAGS.

